Boccaccio 70 *** (1962, Sophia Loren, Romy Schneider, Anita Ekberg, Romolo Valli, Tomas Milian, Paola Stoppa) – Classic Movie Review 5719

In the glorious heyday of Italian cinema, the three Italian big guns – Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini – are assembled in 1962 to direct these interesting and enjoyable, typically quirky Sixties-style modern-day Decameron-type tales of amore – love! They are all tales of women taking charge of their destiny, written and directed by men.

The hit of the show is de Sica’s vulgarly funny The Raffle [La Riffa] (written by Cesare Zavattini) with Sophia Loren as Zoe, a carnival booth manager who owes back taxes. So she offers herself for the night as a lottery prize, which she rigs so that a local yokel will win her.

The least effective is Luchino Visconti’s The Job [Il Lavoro] (written by Suso Cecchi d’Amico and Luchino Visconti) starring Romy Schneider as Pupe, who takes a whorehouse post as the mistress to her own husband, Count Ottavio, whose canoodling with hookers has made the papers.

In the middle achievement and entertainment wise is the likeable and appealing The Temptations of Dr Antonio [Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio], co-written and directed by Federico Fellini and starring Anita Ekberg playing herself as a billboard pin-up who comes alive provocatively selling milk and surprises Dr Antonio Mazzuolo (Peppino De Filippo), a crusader for public decency.

As a love poem to the three redoubtable cinema icon stars, this popular portmanteau anthology movie all works pretty engagingly. Anthology movies were long in fashion, but, bizarrely, it was advertised as ‘The First 3-Act Motion Picture Ever Presented! ‘

Also in the cast are Romolo Valli as Lawyer Zacchi (segment Il Lavoro), Tomas Milian as Conte Ottavio (segment Il Lavoro), Paola Stoppa as Lawyer Alcamo (segment Il Lavoro), Luigi Giuliani as Gaetano (segment La Riffa), Alfio Vita Cuspet (segment La Riffa), Dante Maggio, Giacomo Furia and Alberto Sorrentino.

Originally there was a fourth story Renzo e Luciana, directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Marisa Solinas as Luciana and Germano Gilioli as Renzo, which extended the 165 minute movie to 210 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5719

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